The regular meeting of the Muleshoe City Council was held at 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 14, at City Hall. Present were Mayor Pro-Tem Earl Behrends, and council members Lupe Mendoza and Crystal Alarcon. Behrends presided in the absence of Mayor Colt Ellis.

All motions were unanimously approved.

Council considered cancellation of the May 7, 2022, General Election. The law allows cancellation of an election where candidates are unopposed. Crystal Alercon, incumbent, is the only applicant for District 1 City Council, and Lupe Mendoza, incumbent, is the only applicant for District 2 City Council. Council moved, seconded and approved a motion to cancel the election.

A motion to approve the minutes of the council meeting on Feb. 14 was made, seconded and approved.

A representative of Terry & King CPAs PC presented the 2020-2021 audit report. A motion to approve the report was made, seconded and approved.

Police Chief Benny Parker presented the Muleshoe Police Department 2021 Annual Contact Data Report. Parker said that he has been doing the report for 15 years. He submits the report to TCOLE (Texas Commission on Law Enforcement) and the report is sent to council through the state. The report deals with racial profiling.

“We go above and beyond what TCOLE requires,” Parker said.

Agreeing that everything looks good with everybody in place for training, the council moved, seconded and approved a motion to accept the report.

Behrends asked Parker whether there is an opening on the police force. Parker said that the department is accepting applications for a parole officer.

Council considered Ordinance O-532-0322 Amending Section 4.02 of the Code of Ordinances regarding the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages. City Manager Ramon Sanchez said the ordinance amends the current ordinance that was put into place in 2017.

“It reflects that the election happened, but some wording was omitted. The ordinance cleans up that wording,” Sanchez said. “It allowed consumption of alcohol on the premises by the drinker. The current ordinance does not have that, but it was passed to allow that.”

Council made, seconded and approved a motion to amend the ordinance.

Council considered Resolution R-783-0322 Authorizing professional service provider selection for Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Programs through the ARP (American Rescue Plan) Act. The selection committee recommended Parkhill Engineers of Lubbock provide services for projects that come up within the next two years. Council made, seconded and approved a motion to authorize Parkhill Engineers.

Council made, seconded and approved a motion to Receive Financial Statement for the month ending February 28, 2022.

In Administrative Reports:

a. The Texas Municipal League (TML) Region III Meeting will be 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 24, at the FiberMax Center for Discovery in Lubbock. This will be the first in-person meeting in quite a while and is open to council members and spouses. The topic will be coronavirus-related funds by Southern Plains Association of Governments (SPAG)

b. The solar light project at the Walking Trail has been completed. “It is a sight to be seen,” Sanchez said. “They did an excellent job.”

c. HOME Grant Update. Two houses have been placed on contract, and loans have been approved. Once a third house is approved, the City will come to council and award a bid for contractors.

d. SPAG is hosting a TML Small City clinic. TML legal counsel addresses current issues for small cities in the state. The clinic will be in Lubbock at the SPAG office for a little more than half a day. Interested council members should let the city manager know.

In Mayor and Council remarks, the city offered praise to fire department for containing a fire that occurred earlier in the afternoon.

Council went into Executive Session Closed Session in Accordance with Vernon’s Texas Codes Annotated, Government, Section 551.072 Real Estate.

Council returned and considered action on the executive session. A motion to move forward to accomplish development of the golf course area was made, seconded and approved.

The meeting adjourned.